2024 Featured Performers & Stage, Dance Lesson Schedule, Movie Premiere
Erika Brady Host World Stage
Armin Hasanagic Host Heritage Stage
Sadie Jeannette Host Diversity Stage
Kelsy Tullis Host Dance Lessons
Dance Lesson Schedule
Lessons & participating instructors: Latin Ballroom by SoKY Dance Arts of Bowling Green • Indian dance by Soma’s Belles of Bluegrass • Zimbabwe Dance & Mbira by Mbira dza Maungira • Samoan Dance by Teine O Samoa • Persian Gulf dance by Arabesque World Dance
La Gala Ballroom (Indoor) [host: Kelsey Tullis]
- 10:00-10:30 SoKY Dance Arts of BG – Latin Ballroom
- 10:45-11:15 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 11:30-12:00 Mbira dza Maungira – Zimbabwe Dance & Mbira
- 12:15-12:45 SoKY Dance Arts of BG – Latin Ballroom
- 1:00-1:30 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 1:45-2:15 Arabesque World Dance – Persian Gulf dance / bellydance
- 2:30-3:00 Soma’s Belles of Bluegrass – Indian dance
- 3:15-3:45 Arabesque World Dance – Persian Gulf dance / bellydance
- 4:00-4:30 Mbira dza Maungira – Zimbabwe Dance & Mbira
Stage Schedules
Featured Performers: Academy of Flamenco Arts • Arabesque World Dance & Troupe Banat Nawaar • Armin Hasanagic & Friends • AruMaru Martial Arts • Burma Nationals Organization • CAREUSTZ • Colin Grant-Adams • Guerreros Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dancers • Halfway Home • Jeff Manning • Luz de Mexico • Mbira dza Maungira • Rachana Pasupuleti • Roux du Bayou Cajun Zydeco Band • Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company • Seefari • SoKY Dance Arts of Bowling Green • Soma’s Troupe/ Belles of Bluegrass • Sreshta Meduri, SLB KK • Teine O Samoa • Tropic Society • Tuatha Dea • Veracruz Folklórico • WKU Chinese Music Club • Yeli Ensemble • Zomi Community
Diversity Stage [host: Sadie Jeannette/Lindsey Production Group]
- 8:45-9:00 Opening Ceremony – Awards, recognition for K-12 Poster Contest winners, T-Shirt Designer, BG International Cup soccer tournament awards, Introduction of Presenting Sponsor – Service One Credit Union
- 9:00-10:00 Roux du Bayou Cajun Zydeco Band – Cajun French South Louisiana
- 10:10-11:15 Tuatha Dea – Tribal Celtic
- 11:25-11:40 Rachana Pasupuleti – Bharatanatyam Classical Indian Dance
- 11:45-12:20 Academy of Flamenco Arts – Flamenco
- 12:30-1:30 Tropic Society – Caribbean/Brazilian Fusion
- 1:40-2:40 Yeli Ensemble – Traditional Music & Dance from the Mali Empire
- 2:45-3:05 Careustz – African / Afghanistan dance fusion
- 3:15-4:30 Seefari – classic reggae with dub, rock, jazz, Latin & African
- 4:31-4:45 Jeff Manning – Scottish Bagpipes
- 4:47-6:00 Tuatha Dea – Tribal Celtic
Heritage Stage [host: Armin Hasanagic/Lindsey Production Group]
- 9:00-9:30 Guerreros Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dancers – Mexican Aztec drum & dance
- 9:32-10:00 Mbira dza Maungira – Zimbabwean Mbira
- 10:05-10:20 Sreshta Meduri, SLB KK – Indian Kuchipudi Dance
- 10:22-10:30 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 10:35-11:00 Halfway Home – Celtic
- 11:01-11:15 Jeff Manning – Scottish Bagpipes
- 11:16-12:31 Colin Grant-Adams – Scottish Singer/Songwriter
- 11:16-1:41 Armin Hasanagic & Friends – Bosnian Folk
- 1:46-2:16 Academy of Flamenco Arts – Flamenco
- 2:18-2:26 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 2:36-3:06 Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company – African Drums and Dance
- 3:11-3:51 Burma Nationals Organization – Ethnic Burmese Dances
- 3:55-4:10 Rachana Pasupuleti – Bharatanatyam Classical Indian Dance
- 4:12-4:20 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 4:22-4:50 Arabesque World Dance & Troupe Banat Nawaar – Traditional & Modern Dances of Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey & Saudi Arabia
- 5:00-6:00 Yeli Ensemble – Traditional Music & Dance from the Mali Empire
World Performance Area [host: Erika Brady/Lindsey Production Group]
- 9:00-9:20 SoKY Dance Arts of Bowling Green – Latin Dance
- 9:22-9:37 AruMaru Martial Arts – South Korean Taekwondo
- 9:40-10:15 Burma Nationals Organization – Ethnic Burmese Dances
- 10:17-10:37 Careustz – African / Afghanistan Dance Fusion
- 10:39-11:09 Arabesque World Dance & Troupe Banat Nawaar – Traditional & Modern Dances of Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey & Saudi Arabia
- 11:11-11:31 Luz de Mexico – Mexican Dance
- 11:33-11:48 Zomi Community – Zomi Music & Dance
- 11:50-11:54 Veracruz Folklórico – Veracruz Dance
- 11:56-12:11 Sreshta Meduri, SLB KK – Indian Kuchipudi Dance
- 12:13-12:21 Teine O Samoa – Samoan Dance
- 12:25-12:55 Arabesque World Dance & Troupe Banat Nawaar – Traditional & Modern Dances of Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey & Saudi Arabia
- 12:57-1:27 Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company – African Drums and Dance
- 1:30-1:55 SoKY Dance Arts of Bowling Green – Latin Dance
- 2:00-2:20 Luz de Mexico – Mexican Dance
- 2:22-2:26 Veracruz Folklórico – Veracruz Dance
- 2:36-3:06 Guerreros Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dancers – Mexican Aztec drum & dance
- 3:13-3:55 Colin Grant-Adams – Scottish Singer/Songwriter
- 4:00-4:05 Soma’s Belles of Bluegrass – Dance of India
- 4:07-4:22 Zomi Community – Zomi Music & Dance
- 4:25-4:55 WKU Chinese Music Club – Traditional Chinese instruments
- 5:00-5:28 Mbira dza Maungira – Zimbabwean Mbira
- 5:30-6:00 Guerreros Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dancers – Mexican Aztec drum & dance
In the Park
Piñata Bursts
Every hour on the hour kids can line up to burst a piñata.
Free Children’s Crafts
The Children’s Activities area features free make and take projects including: stamp making, Celtic brooches, mosaics and totem poles.
Jamming & Karaoke at Celtic Nations
Look for various musicians from our Celtic groups to jam throughout the day. The area also features karaoke, darts and more.
PBS Documentary Double Feature:
WKU Public Media presents a double feature in celebration of the Bowling Green International Festival.
Join us for two short documentaries depicting the unique journies and experiences of recent immigrants to the United States.
- 12:00p: Fleeing to Flyover Country
- 12:30p: Living the American Dream
The Capitol by Warren County Public Library 416 East Main Street, Bowling Green, KY 42101
Tickets (free): https://warrenpl.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/253
About our Featured Artists
Tuatha Dea
Celtic, tribal, Gypsy rock with an Appalachian steampunk edge. Their rhythmic groove and interaction naturally inspires audience participation, a staple of their performances. They mesh the traditional music of Scotland and Ireland with their own bold blend of mainstream rock, mountain drumming and Appalachian blues to produce a truly unique sound with universal appeal!
Yeli Ensemble
The Yeli Ensemble is a trio of musician dancers from Guinea, West Africa. Between them they play all traditional instruments, namely, the djembe, kora, balafon, krin, kinkini, bolon and samban. They also dance. The artists are all from the griot caste which means music and dance forms have been passed down from their ancestors since the height of the Mali Empire. For this performance, they will play all of the instruments that make up the wealth of their culture and dance to several, including a masked dance. At the end of the performance the audience will also be welcome to join.
Soma’s Belles of Bluegrass
Look for their Dance Lessons in the La Gala ballroom.
Indian Classical & Folk Dance
Shresta Meduri, SLB KK
Kuchipudi is a dance-drama performance from India, with its roots in the ancient Hindu Sanskrit text of Natya Shastra. It developed as a religious art linked to traveling bards, temples and spiritual beliefs, like all major classical dances of India. Evidence of Kuchipudi’s existence in an older version are found in copper inscriptions of the 10th century, and by the 15th century in texts such as the Machupalli Kaifat.Kuchipudi tradition holds that Tirtha Narayana Yati – a sanyassin of Advaita Vedanta persuasion, and his disciple, an orphan named Siddhendra Yogi, founded and systematized the modern version of Kuchipudi in the 17th century. Kuchipudi largely developed as a Hindu god Krishna-oriented Vaishnavism tradition, and it is known by the name of Bhagavata Mela in Thanjavur. The traditional Kuchipudi was performed by all males troupe. A dancer in a male role would be in Agnivastra, also known as Bagalbandi, wear a dhoti (a single pleated piece of cloth hanging down from the waist). A dancer in a female role would wear a Sari with light makeup.
Armin Hasanagic & Friends
A mix of traditional Bosnian sevdah songs as well as gypsy and folk music from the Balkan region. Instruments include guitar, prim, veillette and gryphone.
Teine O Samoa
2 Samoan dances. One with body movements and a weaved fan. The other with a Samoan Knife and body movements.
Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company
Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company is a Tennessee based performing arts company whose mission is to rally communities around the beat of the drum to unify, heal and inspire.
The symbol of Sankofa is that of a bird whose head is faced in the opposite direction of its body. Even though the bird is advancing, it periodically makes it a point to examine or return to its past, since this is the only way for one to have a better future.
Sankofa African Drum and Dance Company was founded by Maria Estes Hall in 2007 after receiving a call to organize the best of the best African Drummers and Dancers in the Tennessee area for a showcase. Little did she know, that show would birth a performing arts company that has now developed into the premier African Drum and Dance Company in Tennessee.
In addition to self-producing an annual Kwanzaa concert (since 2013) to sold-out crowds each year; Sankofa performs throughout the City of Nashville and the surrounding area frequently, at festivals, schools, community events and private events. They also host weekly community classes for adults and children in Nashville.
Sankofa is firmly rooted in educating and cultivating an appreciation for African culture and music. Sankofa understands the power of Unity and utilizes the medium of African Drum and Dance to tear down barriers that tend to divide communities. Sankofa believes that a community that drums and dances together stays together.
Colin Grant-Adams
Colin Grant-Adams is an award-winning touring singer/songwriter/guitarist, originally from Oban Scotland, now living in Glasgow Kentucky. His traditional and original songs from Scotland & Ireland are intermixed with Bluegrass and Americana as well as old time music brought across the sea with the Scots & Irish immigrants. With his tenor voice, fiery guitar work and good humor, Colin is a sought after professional entertainer, with 11 CD recordings, including his new CD “Scotland to Americana”. Colin has been co-writing songs with Clare Steffan, winning numerous awards for them songs, including Bluegrass artist of the year for their song “Simple Folk” at the at the prestige’s Akademie Gala awards in Los Angeles, 2023.
Guerreros Quetzalcoatl Aztec Dancers
Learn more at their booth in the park.
Danza Guerreros Quetzalcoatl from Nashville is a traditional Aztec dance group, we represent our beautiful Mexican culture. We make our own music using a drum. Our beautiful regalia (outfits) is full of wonderful colors, our headpiece is a work of art. Each of our members spend about 3 hours placing each individual feather to create them.
Careustz Fusion Dance
Careustz presents a performance composed of members of both the African & Afghan Bowling Green communities. They will be working together to coordinate dances to each other’s music creating African + Afghan dance fusion.
Burma Nationals
Learn more at their booth in the park.
Bumese, Karenni, Karen and Shan dance performance using music and traditional gong instruments.
Roux du Bayou Cajun Zydeco Band
Roux du Bayou Cajun Band plays authentic cajun, zydeco, swamp pop, mardi gras accordion and fiddle music.
Seefari
Award-winning, Chart-topping, Critically-acclaimed Reggae/World Music Artist Seefari has received extensive radio airplay worldwide and critical comparisons to reggae originators Bob Marley, Dennis Brown, Lee “Scratch” Perry and Pablo Moses. Seefari has won numerous awards and his music has been featured on TV and in films. The singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist has performed for hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic fans, headlining festivals across the USA. Seefari’s music mixes the soulful sound of classic reggae with healthy doses of dub, rock, jazz, Latin and African influences.
Arabesque World Dance & Troupe Banat Nawaar
Troupe Banat Nawaar of Arabesque World Dance in Lexington, Kentucky performs Raqs Sharqi (Eastern Dance of Egypt and Lebanon) as well as Turkish Orientale and Roma, and Raqs Khaleeji of the Persian Gulf Coast. These are the traditional dance styles of the Middle East and Mediterranean used at celebrations and as professional entertainment at the poshest hotels and restaurants. Their performances blend old traditional dance and music with more modern styles of the century. Flowing Silk Veils, the bright ring of finger cymbals, and colorful traditional costuming create a feast for the senses. Banat Nawaar is an eclectic group of performers led by Safiya Nawaar, who uses over 24 years of training in Raqs Sharqi to create lavish choreographies and theatrical performances that delight audiences across the US.
SoKY Dance Arts of Bowling Green
Look for their Dance Lessons in the La Gala ballroom.
Latin ballroom dancing with elements of salsa and cha cha
Mbira dza Maungira
Look for their Dance Lessons & booth in the La Gala ballroom.
Zimbabwean mbira is a danceable, hypotonic music with rich spiritual dimensions for the Shona people. Mbira dza Maungira (the echoing mbira) honors these deep ancestral roots while sharing Shona music, dance, and culture with their audiences. You’ll dance, you’ll sing, and you’ll enjoy a style of music that UNESCO considers part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Rachana Pasupuleti
Rachana Pasupuleti was 8 years old when she began performing at the Bowling Green International Festival in 2009. She has studied Bharatanatyam, a Classical form of Indian Dance since she was three years old. Bharatanatyam is one of the most ancient and exquisite dance forms in the World. It is one of the seven major classical dance forms of India and the most widely known. It is the classical dance style native to southern India, particularly the state of Tamil Nadu. Bharatanatyam is a sublime artistic experience both for the performer and the audience. In addition to being an exquisite dance form, Bharatanatyam teaches concentration, physical and mental discipline and is an excellent physical activity for all ages.
Veracruz Folklórico
Baile veracruz and jarabe tapatío dance.
Luz de Mexico
Las Alazanas by Mariachi Vargas; Son de la negra by Mariachi Vargas; Un poco loco; Jarabe Tapatio
Zomi Community
Learn more at their booth in the park.
Performances will demonstrate the daily living of their lives back in the villages as they are from the hills of Myanmar. It will also illustrate the great hornbill, which is the official state bird and a national symbol among the people.
WKU Chinese Music Club
Learn more at their booth in the park.
Playing Chinese folk songs with traditional Chinese music
Tropic Society
Tropic Society is a jazz fusion group based out of Bowling Green, Kentucky. Combining styles from Brazil and the Caribbean Islands (Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica), listeners will experience upbeat music that’s easy to dance to. Featuring Andrew Dyer on steel pan and vocals, Zicky Hart on saxophone and flute, John Martin on guitar, Kirk Luckett on bass, Quentin Farris on drums, and Jason Bruner on aux. percussion.
Academy of Flamenco Arts
Academy of Flamenco Arts is a dance organization located in Louisville (KY) that offers flamenco classes for different levels to all ages. The Academy of Flamenco Arts prides itself in its vast diversity, with expertise from Argentina, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru and other parts of the world bringing authentic flamenco style to the academy from each respective country. In addition to classes, it also provides opportunities to perform in the community with events and festivals like Bowling Green to more intimate settings including restaurants and cafes.
AruMaru Martial Arts
Learn more at their booth in the park.
Taekwondo
Halfway Home
Robin Duckett and Dale McCubbins perform traditional Irish/Scottish music, including popular folks songs of the region, also tunes like jigs, reels, even sea shanties!
Jeff Manning
With 18 years experience, Jeff Manning has performed at State and National Memorials, funeral, weddings and graduations.